“Standing in the Doorway” was written and recorded during the making of Heart Like a Levee. I think I was trying to understand if and whether luck was related to my life at the time. I always liked this tune, but it didn’t seem to fit the emotional arc of that album for some reason. It also seemed like it could survive on its own, away from other songs that might give it context. Since Heart Like a Levee came out, a lot has changed in the world, of course. I’m currently writing this from the studio where we’re working on our next record and trying to live in this world with some kind of light. —M.C. Taylor
The trippy new video for Hiss Golden Messenger “Like a Mirror Loves a Hammer” from the band’s critically acclaimed new album Heart Like A Levee .
Hiss Golden Messenger’s sixth collection deals with MC Taylor’s guilt of being away while he tries to provide for his family: it’s a remarkable record that feels like a breakthrough.
Here is a well-paced, uncluttered collection of arrangements that manage to make the hardest of times sound upbeat, featuring HGM’s trademark grooves on the likes of “Like A Mirror Loves A Hammer” and fusing modern tones with ancient ones – it is utterly exquisite.
Also, don’t miss the band’s recent Facebook live performances for The New York Times and Paste. Newly confirmed dates include performances in the Midwest and Southeast; see our tours page for a complete list of shows.
General consensus has it that the hardships of life on the road is far from the most compelling of subject matters for an album. Singer Songwriter MC Taylor – the North Carolina-based songwriter, singer and guitarist operating with a rotating cast of collaborators under the Hiss Golden Messenger guise – delivers compelling evidence to the contrary on Heart Like A Levee, by some distance HGM’s finest record so far.
M.C. Taylor’s sixth album as Hiss Golden Messenger is arguably his best. While 2013’s Haw served as the band’s initial breakthrough and 2014’s Lateness of Dancers brought about late night revelry (featuring SylvanEsso Amelia Meath and Reggie Pace from No BS! Brass Band) on Letterman ,
Heart Like A Levee serves as a deeper incarnation of those predecessors. The album is steeped in the duality of leaving one of his greatest loves in life—his family—only to venture off into the world to embrace his other love—music—and exemplified in the gutting title track and “Cracked Windshield.” Yet, Heart Like A Levee reconciles with a singular musicality. Multi-instrumentalists and brothers Phil and Brad Cook have finally perfected the Hiss Golden Messenger sound by balancing the meandering guitar noodling and reverberating Wurlitzers worthy of a jam band breakdown with Taylor’s acoustic Americana foundation
If you’re looking for the perfect soundtrack to the changing seasons and the darker nights coming in, look no further than Hiss Golden Messenger’s new album “Heart Like A Levee” , the band’s first new LP since 2014’s superb Lateness of Dancers. The album, out October 7th, features frontman M.C. Taylor waxing poetic about life, change, and the American landscape. His songs, created with help from members of Bon Iver and Megafaun, are filled with longing and drive. The title track, which we are premiering today, is all promise wrapped up in guitar strings—perfect for making lonesome autumn nights seem a little less lonely.
From the album Heart Like a Levee, out October 7th, 2016 on Merge Records.
Ahead of the release of their upcoming album Heart Like A Levee, out October 7 via Merge Records, Hiss GoldenMessenger has released a new video for single “Tell Her I’m Just Dancing”. The video features a rollicking performance of the track by the band, which includes Matt McCaughan (of Bon Iver) on drums.
The Fat Angel Sings 